I’m sure many of you ask yourselves “How can Instagram help my business?” and it’s a valid question for any entrepreneur to ponder. Honestly, I love Instagram, and have made it the center of our company’s social marketing which has greatly improved our overall online strategy.

How?

1. Better pictures everywhere!

One major improvement in my life is the ability to now take better quality pictures. If you view our entire image feed (@printkeg), you can see a huge difference between my first photographs and my most recent. By following other snazzy experienced photographers, Instagram becomes a fantastic learning venue. As I was learning from peers, I researched more about photography basics, important apps, neat filters which, in time, drastically improved my photos. I even found this cool list of photography tips to help me along the way.

Now I’m taking nice photos of my products and sharing them across many networks on a daily basis. Even the images on our website are now better thanks to the time I’ve spent using Instagram. I’ve written 3 quick tips to easily improve your Instagrams photos.

2. Easy Networking

Instagram allows anyone to share images and text across itself (which now boasts more than 80 million users), Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Foursquare, Email and Flickr. By using hashtags, geotagging and snapping great pics, your business can enhance the experience of each social networks through imagery which, in effect, increases engagement. I strongly believe imagery though photos and video improves the customer experience and Instagram makes this fun and easy to do – especially for entrepreneurs like me who are always in a hurry.

3. Deeper Relationships With Customers

Our company’s Instagram has less followers than our fan bases on Facebook and Twitter, but the customers are awesomely engaging and enjoyable to deal with (for the most part). It’s an interesting avenue of meeting a smaller group of more socially savvy customers. By posting intimate pictures of our business only viewable through Instagram, we offer these fans a better understanding of who we are and what kind of company we want to be. It’s built a deep and loyal relationship with some of our customers. Not only do they know us better, but we get to know them too without worrying about fancy demographic charts or web analytics.

4. Attracts New Customers

As you build followers, more and more of them will begin to take interest in your projects thus leading to new leads and sales. Don’t start a new Instagram account thinking your business will surge, because that’s not going to happen. Instagram is fun, addictive and easy. In time, you can build a loyal following which will open up valuable branding opportunities and possibly new sales. Be sure to read our tips to gaining Instagram followers.

5. Meet Other Professionals

With Instagram, I’ve enjoyed meeting other business owners in my field. Unlike LinkedIn, the prime social destination for business, I can actually see projects that other print companies and sign makers are working on. We can learn from their techniques, ask questions about equipment and build tight knit relationships with those in our craft. That’s pretty cool.

Conclusion

If you’re asking yourself “How Can Instagram Help My Business?” then look no further. The Instagram experience is unique to all of us and I guarantee the photo sharing app will present it’s value to your business in one way or another.